With only two days left before the veto recess, the Kentucky General Assembly will reconvene Monday in Frankfort.
The top priority, a one-year state budget, has yet to be approved and State Senator Whitney Westerfield notes he received a summary of a conference committee compromise before the weekend and believes a spending plan will pass before the recess.
Legislation passed the House Friday that would create a commission to work on finding a fair tax rate for parimutuel wagering such as the historical racing machines at horse tracks. Representative Myron Dossett opposed the measure that’s now in the Senate, saying he’s prepared for the legislature to increase those tax rates on gambling.
Meanwhile, House Bill 563 would allow students to use education opportunity accounts, a type of scholarship, to attend a public school outside of his or her district. Individuals or businesses who donate to organizations that issue education opportunity accounts would be eligible for a tax credit. Under an amendment to the bill, the provisions of the legislation dealing with using education opportunity accounts for private school tuition would apply only to students in Kentucky’s most populous counties —Jefferson, Fayette and Kenton Counties.
Representative Walker Thomas of Hopkinsville supports the measure.
Another amendment to the bill would allow the state to fund full-day kindergarten for every public school district in the commonwealth. This bill passed the House 51-45 and now goes to the Senate.